Rescue
by Mathais
Summary: Akihiko saves Minato after a bit a trouble in Tartarus and takes care of him after. Akihiko/Minato, fill for the Persona kink meme.


Story Title: Rescue

Author: Mathais

Rating: T

Fandom: Persona 3

Warnings: Persona 3 Spoilers.

Pairings: Akihiko/Minato

Summary: Akihiko saves Minato after a bit a trouble in Tartarus and takes care of him after.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters/elements of Persona 3.

Notes: Done for a prompt for the Persona kink meme located here: shirakawablvd. livejournal 1014. html?thread=793590#t793590. Prompt located at the end.

**OoOoO**

Akihiko raised his Evoker to his head, focused, and pushed at the same moment as he pulled the trigger. "Caesar!" left his lips, triumphant, as Ziodyne crashed down in an almighty flash, frying a Shadow. Holstering his Evoker, Akihiko idly slipped a Chewing Soul into his mouth, feeling the parched reserves of his soul fill once more.

He rode his adrenaline high into the next battle, swinging his fists with a calm but fierce poise. Minato tasked him with clearing as many Shadows as he could, and so long as they didn't have resistances to strike or lightning, Akihiko was totally fine with that. Normally, they'd take it a little safer, but this was a floor they'd been on before, and Akihiko was willing to take what training he could. While he always had the presence of mind to keep track of his strengths, with no Minato at his back to cover his weaknesses, he felt more open about getting lost in the thrum of battle, dodging and striking in ways he never could in the ring.

Akihiko grinned when he came across another Shadow he knew was weak to his fists, and so he settled into his fighting stance. He was about to move when he heard the familiar crackle in his head, and he drew back.

"_Akihiko-senpai!_"

Akihiko's gut clenched at Fuuka's panicked voice. "What happened?" he asked quickly, backing off even further as his priorities shifted.

"Minato collapsed!" Before Akihiko could do more than gasp, Fuuka continued, "I'll lead you to him and then open an escape route."

"Do it!" Akihiko pulled an about-face at Fuuka's direction and dashed back.

All of his previous adrenaline morphed into a deadly focus, cold and hard, but even with that, even as he rushed down empty corridors, Akihiko couldn't help but wonder how this could have happened. Minato had never fallen in Tartarus before. Even when everyone else had been knocked unconscious, Minato had never fallen.

Honestly? His trust in Minato's capabilities was what drew him to Minato in the first place.

Strength was attractive.

Akihiko snapped into a ready position when he was a pack of Shadows congregating in front of him, and when he saw a flash of blue hair on the floor, well... It'd been a long time since Akihiko had that flush of desperate anger that had him raising his Evoker to his head and calling down the electrifying storm that was Maziodyne.

At Fuuka's desperate, "No! They reflect—" Akihiko winced until he remembered that, under Caesar's auspices, lightning didn't affect him at all.

So when his own lightning crashed back into him, Akihiko simply powered through and slammed his fist into the closest surviving Shadow. It dissipated under his gloves, and then he was blurring through the rest. One managed to smack him in the face, but Akihiko rolled with the blow, backing off for only a moment before throwing himself forward again, never stopping.

He found his fighting style evolving a little. Up close combos were his thing, and as long as he kept up the pressure, even the toughest foes fell under his blows. Spurred on by his panic focused into deadly sharpness, Akihiko made short work of the remaining Shadows and came to kneel at the side of his leader.

Minato wasn't quite unconscious, no. Even now, sweat beading his brow and face flushed with the red of fever, Minato's shaky hand held onto his sword, and his other clutched his Evoker as a lifeline. His eyes still managed to track Akihiko as he gathered Minato into his arms and rose to his feet. His mouth opened to speak, but Akihiko stopped it with a shake of his head.

"I've got him," Akihiko said to Fuuka.

In response, the glimmering light that represented Fuuka's power to remove them instantly from Tartarus opened in front of them. Akihiko stepped through to safety at the bottom of the tower, the rest of SEES gathering around him.

"Akihiko, is he all right?" Mitsuru asked.

"He awake but sick," Akihiko said. "I vote that we head back for tonight."

"Of course," Mitsuru agreed. Without prompting, she reached over and carefully picked Minato's sword from where it had fallen as soon as they were safe. "Come on everyone, let's head back."

"Yo, Akihiko-senpai," Junpei began, "Minato's not exactly light. Want so help carrying him back?"

"I'm good." His voice was gruff and terse, but he still tried to soften it. "I can make it."

Junpei looked uneasily at Mitsuru, and seeing no objections from her, shrugged.

Akihiko kept true to his word. He carried Minato all the way back to his dorm, and along the way he tried to calm his erratic pulse. Minato, usually so strong, so put together, was deadweight in his arms, with his breaths shallow and chest shuddering with heavy coughs. Even worse, he barely protested Akihiko's manhandling of him. For someone as independent as Minato was, his resignation to being carried said far more about his current state than even his shivering body.

Akihiko took him straight to his room, where he carefully tucked Minato into bed. Before he could even make it out of his door, Yukari was already there, a glass of water and some pills in hand. She and Akihiko met eyes across the threshold of his room, neither speaking. There was a lot that had been left unsaid between them, but if there was a purpose they could unite behind, it was this.

"I know we've had our differences, Akihiko-senpai," Yukari finally said, "but here."

He accepted the medicine gratefully. "Thanks Yukari."

"...Just take care of him." With that, Yukari left.

Akihiko returned to Minato and tried to coax him into taking the medicine. In another worrying sign, Minato took the pills without complaint before leaning back and closing his eyes. Soon, his breaths evened out, leaving Akihiko to watch over him.

Akihiko took in a deep, shuddering breath as he sat there and everything that he was holding back slammed into him.

"You scare the shit out of me sometimes," he told Minato's sleeping body. It was a truth that Akihiko would never speak, would never dare to admit, if Minato was awake. But here and now, heart hammering in his chest, he had to say it. "I don't know how you do it. You're just so strong and so good, and then you do crap like this."

Like pushing himself until he was sick and everyone could tell, but still he charged forth into Tartarus with vigor and skill that outclassed all the rest of them. Even when he was slick with fever, he managed to power through to the end of the floor.

Back when he was just another member of SEES, Akihiko admired that part of Minato and strained to achieve the same thing.

Now, being involved with Minato, it just scared him just how much Minato was willing to sacrifice for his friends.

Akihiko was afraid of losing more. Miki and Shinji were already gone.

He didn't know what would happen if he lost Minato.

"Don't do this to me, please."

He bowed his head over Minato in rumination.

A light touch on his cheek made him look up. Minato's eyes were open, and though they were half-lidded, Akihiko knew him well enough to see the coherency in his gaze. A soft smile spread across Minato's lips.

"You were awake," Akihiko accused.

Minato nodded wordlessly. The smile on his lips widened as he lifted the blankets invitingly, to Akihiko's light blush.

"You're going to get me sick," he complained, but that didn't stop him from slipping under the covers as well.

Minato curled up against him and sniffled into Akihiko's collarbone. Though Minato was hot and sticky to the point of being slightly uncomfortable, Akihiko wrapped his arms around Minato anyway and drew him close.

"You're lucky I like you so much," Akihiko grumbled.

He could feel Minato smile against him before his breathing evened out once more. Sore from a long night of fighting and content with Minato next to him, Akihiko soon fell asleep as well, lulled by the rhythm of Minato's heart against his.

**OoOoO**

Prompt: I'd like a fic where the MC/Mshe(either gender is fine) push themselves way too hard and end up passing out in the middle of Tartarus during a fight. Cue freaking out and saving from whoever they brought along that night. OP would love it to be Akihiko, Shinji and Junpei, but whoever the author picks is fine :D


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